Here we go again! The Battle of the 12x UZIS. I plan to buy a new UZ and have narrowed it down to these three: Canon S2SI, Sony H1 and Panasonic FZ5 - (the FZ20 is just too large.) Here are my criteria:

I'm in the same position, but mainly trying to decide between the Canon S2 IS, Sony H1, and Panasonic FZ20. My information so far on them is that the S2 has some image quality issues compared to the other 2, apparently the focus speed on the S2 is marginally slower than the other 2. As far as battery is concerned, i'm leaning away from the FZ5/20 because they use Li-ion, and the spares are rather expensive ($85 AU) whereas H1 and S2 both use AA, and from information on steve's reviews, the S2 will do 500ish shots on a set of NiMH AAs. H1 has a rather large LCD (2.5") the swivel on the S2 is only 1.8". Movie mode on S2 is awesome, with the USM sound quality is good. I believe the IS is good for all of those cameras.

I'm in the same position, but mainly trying to decide between the Canon S2 IS, Sony H1, and Panasonic FZ20. My information so far on them is that the S2 has some image quality issues compared to the other 2, apparently the focus speed on the S2 is marginally slower than the other 2. As far as battery is concerned, i'm leaning away from the FZ5/20 because they use Li-ion, and the spares are rather expensive ($85 AU) whereas H1 and S2 both use AA, and from information on steve's reviews, the S2 will do 500ish shots on a set of NiMH AAs. H1 has a rather large LCD (2.5") the swivel on the S2 is only 1.8". Movie mode on S2 is awesome, with the USM sound quality is good. I believe the IS is good for all of those cameras.

HAving owned the S1 and now the S2 and having worked with the SonyH1, the S2 is best, and above others. It has a USM multi-element lens with Canon IS that has only usually been availabe in their SLR lenses. Their technology cuts above the rest with respect to chromatic aberation (purple fringing), on photos. The fast focus and added shooting modes, namley a specifc mode for "low light", the complaint of digital cameras from day one, now Canon addresses this very well. The LCD is only 1.8, but no big deal, the overall marks go to Canon becuase OUTPUT is key. The camera has manual focus models to grow with from, aperature and sepeate shutter priority modes to learn with and total manual focus. You would not be disappointed with the Canon S2.

I don't know a lot about the cameras listed but the shots I have seen from the Sony H1 have been very impressive. Especially, with the wide angle and telephoto add-on lenses attached. The S2 hasn't really impressed me and I typically lean toward Canon cameras. Can't say much either way about the Panasonic but if I had to choose one it would be the Sony H1.